Dolittle (2020) | Film Review

If you’re a pet owner, at some point in your life you’ve wondered what they are thinking, what they need, and wished you could communicate with them the way humans communicate with each other. Dr. John Dolittle is one of the few individuals with this ability. He can speak to all species and has the medical knowledge to save their lives when in need.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle is about the infamous man who has an innate talent with animals and his journey after his wife’s death. Isolating himself into confinement and closing the “Dolittle Manor” off with only the company of his incredibly long and scruffy beard and a variety of exotic animals, Dolittle begins out hopeless. When a squirrel gets injured nearby by gunshot and a boy named Tommy (Harry Collett) feels a responsibility to save it, Dolittle receives a knock on the door.

Joined with Tommy at coincidentally the same time is Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado), who acts as Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen. The Queen (Jessie Buckley) is ill and has requested Dr. Dolittle’s presence immediately to resolve her ailment, and if he refuses, the land he lives on may be stripped away with the Queen’s passing. The story then follows Dolittle’s journey in order to save the Queen and his land.

Does this sound like a lot of plot to you? Because it should. We have three main stories to follow, nemeses, a fostering love, and a whole lot more. One of the issues with this film is that it has no idea what it wants to be. And while having much story in a film, especially an adventure film, can be fun, Dolittle has little in way of effectively navigating this. To give you a brief analogy, if Dolittle‘s screenplay were the body in the game Operation, the writers would get the buzzer with their every effort.

Not only does it not know what it wants the story focus to be, it doesn’t know who its targeted audience is. By all standards, we’d likely imagine it to be a family film, but the overt sexual innuendos or adult content sporadically placed without real intention is a bit jarring. But I’m sure they’ve heard and not understood worse.

As this miraculous voyage (insert sarcasm) progresses, the obstacles are thoughtless and peculiar. It appears the intention is for us to laugh as bagpipes are pulled from a dragon’s ass, but no one is really quite sure the rhyme or reason for this endless excavation. I’m still trying to figure that one out, actually. Thankfully, the effects are decent, so you’re at least looking at something visually pleasing.

For an adventure story, our characters never truly live with stakes, except in one instance, and that moment is the most anticlimactic and pointless beat in the whole film. It doesn’t even matter what happens, because this script lacks any real framework. I imagine if there were more focus and dedication to an A and B story – rather than 8 different ones – that would have contributed deeply to the stakes and plot points in Dolittle.

As far as the benefits, the casting for both the lead (RDJ) and the guest voices of animals (Kumail Nanjiana is a personal favorite of mine that adds a much needed break using humor) are certainly a high point. A lot of recognizable voices, as well as full personality to the animals, works in Dolittle‘s benefit.

Unfortunately, the praises for the film are few and far between, and are outweighed by lackluster directing and a thoughtless script. As a film critic, but more importantly a movie LOVER, it’s hard giving one such a rough review and score, but it’s also important that I fairly report my observations and criticisms.

The biggest takeaway I have for you: Do(as)little as possible and don’t see this movie in the theater. Save it for a Redbox rental.